About this episode
This Week in Startups is brought to you by… Gusto is easy online payroll, benefits, and HR built for modern small businesses. Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://www.gusto.com/twist *Gusto pricing shown in ad is based on pricing prior to March 2025 LinkedIn Jobs. A business is only as strong as its people, and every hire matters. Go to https://www.linkedin.com/twist to post your first job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Northwest Registered Agent. Visit - http://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist to get a 60% discount on your next LLC. * Timestamps: (0:00) Jason joins seven strong startup pitches from LAUNCH Accelerator.(1:11) Jacqui kicks off the demo day.(1:40) Introductions to the guest jugdes.(4:40) Justin pitches Melengo(10:18) Gusto - Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://www.gusto.com/twist (11:32) Edward ptiches PodcastAI(18:09) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://www.linkedin.com/twist (19:04) Daniel pitches Tolt(24:55) Rae pitches River(27:49) Northwest Registered Agent - Get a 60% discount on your next LLC at - http://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist (34:01) Kash pitches TaxGPT(40:56) George pitches Fanfare(46:31) Jam pitches Monic.ai (52:05) Our panel of judges pick their top three pitches. * Apply to the LAUNCH Accelerator here: https://launchaccelerator.co/ Just getting started? Apply to Founder.University Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp * Follow these founders and their companies: Justin Kwong & Melengo https://www.melengo.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinckwong/ justin@melengo.com Edward Brawer & PodcastAI https://podcastai.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardbrawer/ ebrawer@podcastai.com Daniel Gjokaj & Tolt https://tolt.io/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielgj/ daniel@tolt.io Rae Lambert & River https://app.getriver.io https://www.linkedin.com/in/raechel-lambert/ rae@getriver.io Kashif Ali & TaxGPT https://www.taxgpt.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chkashifali/ kash@taxgpt.com George Lam & Fanfare https://fanfare.app/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgewlam/ george@fanfare.app Jam Mirzakhalov & Monic.ai http://monic.ai/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirzakhalov/ mirzakhalov@monic.ai * Thank you to our judges: Ben Narasin - Tenacity Venture Capital https://twitter.com/bnarasin Blaine Davis - Outlander https://twitter.com/blainerdavis Minnie Ingersoll - TenOneTen https://twitter.com/himinnie Nicole Seah - Costanoa https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-seah1/ Stella Zhang - Conductive Ventures https://www.linkedin.com/in/xinxin-stella-zhang/ * Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/jason Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis * Thank you to our partners: (10:18) Gusto - Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://www.gusto.com/twist *Gusto pricing shown in ad is based on pricing prior to March 2025 (18:09) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://www.linkedin.com/twist (27:49) Northwest Registered Agent - Get a 60% discount on your next LLC at - http://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist * Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman , Brian Chesky , Aaron Levie , Sophia Amoruso , Reid Hoffman , Frank Slootman , Billy McFarland * Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow TWiST: Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast